The UN, responding to new high-resolution photos of the mysterious interstellar comet 31/ATLAS, has officially activated elements of Earth’s Planetary Defenses, launching a two-month global tracking effort that has ignited both scientific excitement and conspiracy theories. 

Despite NASA and international agencies insisting the object is not a threat, the unprecedented nature of the drill—and the comet’s strange behavior—has pushed 31/ATLAS into global headlines.

Scientists began the coordinated campaign on November 27, and the drill will continue until January, long after 31/ATLAS reaches its closest point to Earth on December 19.

Space object 31/ATLAS officially subject of planetary defence exercise, UN says | UK | News | Express.co.uk

UN Confirms Planetary Defenses Drill as 31/ATLAS Approaches Earth

According to the United Nations and the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN)—operated by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs—the incoming 31/ATLAS comet will serve as a full-scale test for Earth’s Planetary Defenses.
IAWN stated the decision was prompted by the comet’s extended observability, unusual trajectory, and intense public interest.

As reported in Express (link), “Comet 3I/ATLAS presents a great opportunity for the IAWN community to perform an observing exercise due to its prolonged observability from Earth and high interest to the scientific community.”

UN activates Earth’s planetary defences over mysterious ‘alien’ 3I/ATLAS object as shock new pics revealed

Avi Loeb’s Photos Deepen the Mystery

Stunning new images of 31/ATLAS, captured on November 22 and 24 by Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, have fueled speculation that the interstellar object may not be a normal comet. The comet’s glowing green coma and 600,000-mile tail were captured with dramatically greater detail than NASA’s earlier, low-resolution imagery.

Loeb also confirmed that the sharpest publicly known image was taken by Paul Craggs of Canada on November 21.
He noted the comet exhibits at least 12 unexplained anomalies, including:

• A tail that points toward the sun instead of away
• Color shifts as it nears the Sun
• Multiple course changes that appear to defy gravity

Loeb continues speculation when he described the object as possibly “on a specific course through the solar system,” giving more fodder to online claims that 31/ATLAS could be an engineered craft.

NASA Called Out for “Shoddy” Imagery

As NASA explained in their recent briefing, the lack of clarity in their photos is due to the comet’s distance at the time, approximately 19 million miles. Using the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA delivered a grainy black-and-white image that was swiftly criticized.

Conspiracy theorists claimed NASA’s photos “aren’t even of the comet, but of the chemical elements released into space by 31/ATLAS.” One viral X post insisted, “When every telescope from Mauna Kea to Chile is being synced on one object, that’s not a drill.”

NASA, ESA, and JAXA continue to insist there is no threat, pointing to their coordinated monitoring with the UN.

'Closest view yet' of 3I/ATLAS 'alien spaceship' as it hurtles past Mars towards us

31/ATLAS Captured by Mars Orbiters

NASA confirmed that both the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the MAVEN spacecraft captured the “closest view yet” of 31/ATLAS as it passed Mars, revealing ultraviolet activity and a bizarre forward-pointing coma rare in known comets.

31/ATLAS and Aliens: Avi Loeb’s Bold Theories on the Interstellar Visitor - USA Herald

31/ATLAS Tracker: See the Comet 

Earth Shield to Be Tested December 29 Advanced Planetary Defenses

NASA is currently developing the world’s first Earth Shield, a multilayer defense system combining:

• Telescopes
• Radar arrays
• Orbital satellites
• Machine learning–driven threat detection
• A proposed automatic DART-style deflection system
  

NASA and foreign partners including ESA and JAXA will run the next major test on December 29 as 31/ATLAS continues on its outbound trajectory.

31/ATLAS was first spotted on July 1 by the ATLAS telescope in Río Hurtado, Chile. Since then, observatories in Japan, Spain, and Chile have captured rare images revealing its cone-shaped, green-hued structure.